It's that time of the year where parents and students are putting the final touches on plans that have been years in the making. Part of the planning ahead of move-in day should include creating a comfortable, livable dorm room atmosphere to ease the transition into college life. What qualities can you look for in lighting when decorating a dorm room?

The lamp above is ideal because it's bright enough to provide proper reading light but also doubles as broadly diffused conversational lighting.

It takes two 60 watt bulbs so it channels plenty of light onto a desktop while comfortably radiating light throughout the whole room.

Students beginning a new year need good reading light, especially if they are moving into a dorm room. Dorm rooms often provide only overhead flourescent lighting which, while energy-efficient, is too dim for late-night study sessions.

Purchasing the lighting online and having it shipped to the students new home gives you more variety to choose from and saves you the headache of transporting the lighting on move-in day. Torchieres and table lamps can be placed almost anywhere and can quickly brighten a dreary room.

Michael Berman, one of our manager/lighting experts, was interviewed by the St. Petersburg Times about lighting for elderly readers. In the article, Michael says that a good reading lamp should do three things:

Reduce peripheral shadow around the reading area to reduce eye fatigue.

From the vaults... this commercial was made several years ago by a young L.A. filmmaker, but never aired on television because we thought it a little too risque. We recently dusted it off and posted it on YouTube.

Custom is in, as is color and contemporary. These giclee style pendant chandeliers capture those looks perfectly.

The combination of the colorful drum shades and the brushed steel adjustable halogen lights makes a design splash in any setting. And the shades are our own pattern designs, and are custom-printed to-order.

3) Brightening a room's edges will make the room appear instantly bigger and brighter. Recessed lights near the corners of the room, torchieres/sconces pointed towards the ceiling, and track lighting with wall washers all fill in those dark corners with light.

4) Emphasize the furniture around the edges of a room with lighting. Low voltage lights can be attached on the underside of bookshelves or buffets. Table lamps and slim pendant chandeliers can brighten surfaces.

5) Highlight wall features such a paintings, fireplace mantels or curtains with floodlights, spotlights, track lights or even sconces. You'll be surprised how much more spacious a room will become if extra light is applied to darker decorative pieces.

6) Don't forget about candlelight which a great way to add a whole new "layer". It flickers and dances across the faces of your guests and loved ones in a flattering, cozy way.

We've always loved the Holtkoetter brand for their sleek and sophisticated lighting designs.

A marvel of German-made design and engineering, these are among the finest reading floor and desk lamps we've seen. Many feature Osram halogen bulbs that offer bright, clean lighting perfect for reading or task lighting.

We've added dozens of new Holtkoetter desk lamp and floor lamp designs in the last several weeks - take a look and let us know what you think!

Enjoy perfectly lit family dinners in your backyard! Patio umbrellas shade you from the sun during the day. However, they do not traditionally have a practical function in the evening and their comforting, shielding shape goes unappreciated.

Adding a light to the inside of a patio umbrella is a great idea but it requires that the attachable light can be battery operated to avoid dangling cords and dangerous exposed wiring.

LED bulbs are a perfect design solution to this limitation. They require minimal electric power and can run on standard AA batteries. LED bulbs do not radiate heat and can therefore safely be attached to a canvas or cloth umbrella.

Grouped together in this Umbrella Patio Light from Westinghouse, LED bulbs can light up a table top so that your family can enjoy a well-lit meal. You may find other uses for the umbrella light, as well, it fits on any 1 1/3" to 1 2/3" wide pole.

Post update: the umbrella light mentioned in this post is currently sold out. But you can browse our selection of LED lighting designs for our newest products.